<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>your stars... by yamatsukkei</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23127067">your stars...</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamatsukkei/pseuds/yamatsukkei'>yamatsukkei</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Twitter Story Threads [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Kid Fic, M/M, Soulmates, tsukki's a dummy in this fic. dummy kei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:47:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,379</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23127067</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamatsukkei/pseuds/yamatsukkei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kei never understood why soulmates were so important. From birth, you were chained down to someone you didn't even know. Your connection with that person was supposedly "meant to be," or some kind of idiotic thing like that. Why would anyone want their life decided for them? Destiny, fate, it was all decided for him with no input from him himself.</p><p>At a young age, Kei decided he never wanted to know his soulmate.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Twitter Story Threads [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>176</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>your stars...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>original tweet thread can be found here: https://twitter.com/yamatsukkei/status/1230690799542620160</p><p>--</p><p>a story migrated from my story thread on twitter! as always, it was edited a little to fit more stuff that couldn't have fit otherwise! This is probably one of my favorite threads I've written so far!! i hope you enjoy it!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kei never understood why soulmates were so important. From birth, you were chained down to someone you didn't even know. Your connection with that person was supposedly "meant to be," or some kind of idiotic thing like that. Why would anyone want their life decided for them? Destiny, fate, it was all decided for him with no input from him himself.</p><p> </p><p>At a young age, Kei decided he never wanted to know his soulmate.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Then the words start to appear. 7 year old Kei stares at his arm, seeing a big, messily scribbled <em>"hello"</em> all over the inside of his left arm. He wrinkles his nose, wondering if his soulmate had just learned how to write hiragana, or something.</p><p> </p><p>He doesn't reply back.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He figures his soulmate forgot about him — they never wrote back after that.</p><p> </p><p>Until 2 years later.</p><p> </p><p>He's stuck in class, and all he wants to do is go home so he could play volleyball with Akiteru. He's bored out of his mind, and his eyes drop to his desk, sweeping over notes finished many moments before the teacher started talking. His gaze moves elsewhere, and he finds himself idly staring at his left wrist. He then nearly knocks over his pencil case out of shock.</p><p> </p><p>☆☆</p><p> </p><p>Two stars were neatly etched into his wrist, tiny and dark with the ink it must have been drawn with, and he's staring at it longer than he should, because the teacher calls on him, and his attention is ripped away from them. He found himself feeling relieved for the distraction, because he didn't want to get caught up in... Whatever this was; this thing he had going on with his soulmate.</p><p> </p><p>It was annoying.</p><p> </p><p>He ends up hating his infallible curiosity, because he starts drawing tiny dinosaurs all over his left arm. It wasn't writing, and he never usually speaks about them to others, so he thought it was something that he could handle, if he were to ever meet his soulmate in real life. </p><p> </p><p>The first time he started drawing, he found his doodles surrounded by stars, and he laughed, if only out of surprise and increasing wonder.</p><p> </p><p>Ah wait, he wasn't supposed to find this fun.</p><p> </p><p>He draws dinosaurs a little less, then, because something akin to pride keeps him grounded.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>That doesn't stop the flourish of stars all over him. They're there at least once a week, sometimes in clusters, sometimes spread out alongside his arm. He pretends he's still as ignorant as ever when his family tries to ask him about it. It's embarrassing, annoying, and bothersome when people try to get to know someone he doesn't want to know. Even if it was someone that's, well... His soulmate.</p><p> </p><p>He hates soulmates. He hates his own.</p><p> </p><p>Somewhere along the way, he's added crescent moons to the starry constellations, and he finds it easy. If this was all he let the idea of soulmates entail, he thought he could handle it. No need for talking. Doodles and such were the only type of communication he wanted, ever.</p><p> </p><p>He thinks he wouldn't ever meet his soulmate, anyways. Doesn't ever want to.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>At the age of ten, he meets Yamaguchi Tadashi, a boy who he doesn't think he's seen around before. Maybe he has. He never knew, since he stopped paying attention to other kids ever since they started asking everyone, Kei included, what their soulmates were like.</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi never mentioned it, though.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The inky stars upon his skin appeared less and less, and Kei absentmindedly wonders if something happened to his soulmate. But he doesn't ask. He doesn't do anything, in fact. He lets his moons fall off his skin, and onto thin pieces of paper instead.</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi was the only important person in his life, anyways.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He ends up spending time with him, more and more, and the rejected idea that soulmates were one's destiny, surfaced in Kei's mind again. He doesn't want his soulmate. He was fine with Yamaguchi.</p><p> </p><p>Still, he thinks of his supposed soulmate. Wonders how to permanently cut ties.</p><p> </p><p>He doesn't think it's possible, which annoys him, but Yamaguchi's here, so there's no use dwelling on it. He's here to do homework with him, and Kei's eyes land on a bunch of star drawings that were underneath some of his assignments.</p><p> </p><p>"Did you draw that?" he asks, and Yamaguchi flushes, embarrassed.</p><p> </p><p>"Y-Yeah. I like stars."</p><p> </p><p>Kei blinks, but chases every thought in his mind away. "I think they're cool."</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi smiles, and shows more of them to him. Butut then he says something that makes his blood run cold.</p><p> </p><p>"I used to draw them a lot on my arm."</p><p> </p><p>What was he insinuating?</p><p> </p><p>Talking to his soulmate?</p><p> </p><p>Soulmates were cursed. They tore people apart. Kei doesn't think much of it, but if Yamaguchi, if Tadashi, if <em>he</em> was talking to his soulmate, then what was he doing here? Why was he with them? His soulmate was probably a much better person than he was. More interesting. More nice. Kinder.</p><p> </p><p>He hates the idea of soulmates. </p><p> </p><p>Hates being tied down, and the fact that everyone else is, too.</p><p> </p><p>Hates this solidarity between people he doesn't know.</p><p> </p><p>He distances himself from Yamaguchi a little then. Thinks that his soulmate should talk to him instead of Kei. Since they were destined to be and all. The two of them still talked, but all Kei could think about was Yamaguchi fading from his life, off to be with his soulmate, leaving Kei alone.</p><p> </p><p>Granted, he was only eleven. They were still young. They could still be friends, yeah. Kei ignored the way his heart seemed to ache, and looked down at his left arm. He gaped at it, having forgotten about his current predicament with his soulmate.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Sorry</em> <em>for not talking lately, I've been busy. I'm not so busy now, though! So hi!"</em></p><p> </p><p>Did his soulmate really think he'd talk to them? Did they really? Years of doodles and drawings and prolonged silence wasn't enough to bore them? He was tired of them, anyways.</p><p> </p><p>Yet he picks up a pen, and draws a crescent moon underneath the written words as a silent reply back.</p><p> </p><p><em>"Can I talk?"</em> The message is written instantly, and in smaller kana, is written "<em>If that's okay with you. I know we don't talk a lot, if at all."</em></p><p> </p><p>Kei stares at every line, waiting for a few seconds before he circles the word <em>"okay</em><em>"</em> as an answer. The reply comes a little later, and it's slow, almost hesitant.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"I think my friend doesn't like me. I think I bother him. I annoy him."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kei doesn't really care.</p><p> </p><p>He doesn't answer, but he thinks that at this point, his soulmate knows. Knows that it would have been stupid of them to expect any more of him in the first place. He's already stubbornly decided that Yamaguchi was the only one he needed.</p><p> </p><p>Even if...</p><p> </p><p>Even if it wasn't mutual.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi's become more sullen, lately. Kei wants to ask why, but he's bad at expressing himself in the first place, so one day he hands him his slice of strawberry shortcake, something he rarely gives away. Much like his own self.</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi accepts it with a small smile.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Tsukki," Yamaguchi starts another day, wringing his hands together. Kei turns to him, relieved to be free from the numbers and letters that flew from his homework.</p><p> </p><p>They've never, ever talked about this before. But Yamaguchi just had to go and change it, huh?</p><p> </p><p>He looks at him with a sliver of curiosity, "What's your soulmate like?"</p><p> </p><p>Kei stills.</p><p> </p><p>Stares back with a level-headed stare.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes then flick down to his left arm, which have been devoid of stars and the like for ages now. He thinks of his attitude towards his soulmate. Lifting his head, he answers bluntly.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't need them. Never wanted them. They annoyed me. They always drew stuff on my arms."</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi looks around his room, then. Kei doesn't notice, because he's looking at his arm again. His voice sounds weird when he replies, as if he was scared. What was there to be scared of?</p><p> </p><p>"Oh? What kind of stuff? Were they cool?"</p><p> </p><p>Kei shrugs. They were, a little bit.</p><p> </p><p>He doesn't want Yamaguchi thinking that he values his soulmate over him, though. He doesn't want to lose Yamaguchi.</p><p> </p><p>"It was just stars and stuff. Nothing special."</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately for him, Kei didn't put two and two together, not before Yamaguchi did. He was still staring at his own arm.</p><p> </p><p>"Did you ever reply back?" Yamaguchi's voice shook, then, and Kei finally lifted his head, shocked to find his eyes shimmering and mouth quivering. "Maybe, with dinosaurs or moons?"</p><p> </p><p>Oh.</p><p> </p><p>Kei's eyes flicked to his arm, and his throat felt dry. Yamaguchi was already picking up a pen.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to know that he, the rudest, most crass person he knew, just called the only person who mattered to him, his supposed soulmate, everything but that. </p><p> </p><p>He quickly got up, running out the door, ignoring the surely growing marks on his arm, and the concerned voice flowing from his room.</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi looked so sad. He did that. Yamaguchi was the one who had been talking to him. About him too, back then, if he had to guess. And Kei was the one who threw everything out the window. Kei did that. He did that.</p><p> </p><p>Soulmates were stupid. If soulmates didn't exist, then this wouldn't have happened.</p><p> </p><p>He wouldn't have ruined it. His only friendship. He wouldn't have hurt him. His only friend. His best friend. His soulmate.</p><p> </p><p>All this time, and Yamaguchi was the one. The one, for him. He thought he was going to be sick. How could he have done that? What kind of person does that?</p><p> </p><p>He looked around, seeing that he only strayed a couple blocks away from his house. He was at the park where he and yamaguchi met. He moved to a swing, sitting down with a huff. Shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket, his fingers curl around a pen.</p><p> </p><p>He looks at his arm again.</p><p> </p><p>Having pulled down the sleeves of his hoodie, he sees no words, only stars. Beautiful, beautiful stars as far as the eye can see. Wobbly crescent moons were scattered across the skies, and wisps of clouds were visible as well. Kei lets a tear drop onto the canvas that was his arm.</p><p> </p><p>He grips the pen tightly, opening up his left hand, seeing as all the space on his arm was taken. He presses the tip into the center of his palm, but before he could think of what to write, he hears ragged breaths behind him.</p><p> </p><p>"No, no, don't do that– Tsukki–"</p><p> </p><p>Kei nearly falls off the swing, and he turns, eyes wide as Yamaguchi staggers over to the swing next to his.</p><p> </p><p>"Yamaguchi–" But he was shushed immediately.</p><p> </p><p>"Shh. Hear that, Tsukki? Do you hear the stars? You hear them falling?"</p><p> </p><p>Kei wants to call him dumb, but he doesn't.</p><p> </p><p>"What do you m–"</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi points to himself, and Kei could see the shine of tears that rolled down his freckled cheeks. Kei quickly stood up, dropping the pen to the dirt, frantic.</p><p> </p><p>"My stars, they went to my arms, and to yours," Yamaguchi continues tearfully. Kei wants to wipe his tears away.</p><p> </p><p>"They're good stars," Kei replies lamely, hands hovering around his shoulders, because he wants to hug him, he wants to comfort him, but he doesn't think he deserves the luxury of doing so. Yamaguchi stays still. "I've always liked them, really, I just never–"</p><p> </p><p>"Liked soulmates?" interrupts Yamaguchi.</p><p> </p><p>Kei bites his lip, because that was the truth, but he didn't think he could admit it to his face. Yamaguchi took that as a cue to keep talking.</p><p> </p><p>"I didn't think you did either. You never talked about it a lot anyways, not like our classmates."</p><p> </p><p>Kei had to step in before Yamaguchi assumed things.</p><p> </p><p>"But I like you, Yamaguchi!" He stammered, clenching his hands into fists as Yamaguchi wiped his own tears away, staring at him. "Y-You're my soulmate, yeah? It doesn't matter what dumb things I've said, that all doesn't matter, 'cause I like you!"</p><p> </p><p>Best friend, soulmate, it doesn't matter to him. Not now.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry," Kei mumbled, before looking at him. "Sorry, Yamaguchi." He hugs him close.</p><p> </p><p>"I just didn't want to be stuck with someone I didn't know, and then you came along, and then I didn't want to be stuck with that someone, somewhere where you didn't exist, and–"</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi pats his back, squeezing him tightly.</p><p> </p><p>"Your stars, Tsukki," Yamaguchi says simply, and Kei pulls back, wondering why he looked so blurry now. Yamaguchi laughs softly at his confused face, before rubbing away his tears with a sleeve. "Don't let them fall."</p><p> </p><p>"But," Kei protests weakly, grabbing at his sleeve.</p><p> </p><p>"Shush! I forgive you. 'Cause you're my soulmate." Those words accompany a smile that alights his face, and his own.</p><p> </p><p>Kei looks at him, clear in the moonlight. Yamaguchi raises their arms, matching swirls of life and stars and specks and moons, shining brightly to them both.</p><p> </p><p>"Besides, what kind of friend would I be, if I didn't understand you? I know you! So don't let your stars fall again! Okay?"</p><p> </p><p>Kei blinks, as Yamaguchi smiles, continuing.</p><p> </p><p>"But, if your stars do fall, I'll catch them for you. I'll hold onto them! You'd do the same, right?" His eyes pleaded, and Kei hugged him again, abashed.</p><p> </p><p>"Of course. Anytime. Forever, probably." He hides his face as Yamaguchi laughs happily.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Present day. Kageyama and Hinata have both just found out they were soulmates, and were both fighting while being in awe over it. Kei laughs at their idiocy, turning to Yamaguchi, who was busy drawing stars onto his hands. Kei adds a moon or two on his own, with a small smile.</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi Tadashi was his best friend.</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi Tadashi was also his soulmate.</p><p> </p><p>Because they were one and the same, because Kei would rather have no one else by his side than him, he thinks, that maybe having a soulmate isn't so bad after all. Not when he loves him so, so much.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>